When you’re writing about a sub-.500 club with little to be excited about, it’s often difficult to find fiery ideas for your weekly Hot Take Tuesday segment. This past week, I was really going through the struggle – I honestly had no idea what I’d be writing about. That is, until I came across a fascinating tweet from the MLB Pipeline’s page that really got the gears turning. According to their newest top-100 prospect list, the Orioles have the 10th most “prospect points” of the entire league’s system, not a […]

Griesser’s Suggested Change of the Week In an unexpectedly quiet trade deadline, Mike Elias surprised me by not dealing one of either Jonathan Villar or Mychal Givens. Had he done so, I would have centered this Change of the Week around replacing either player. When the dust had officially settled, I figured I’d have to dig real deep to make any sort of recommendation to the O’s GM for the upcoming week. However, I think I do have a little change he could make to help this team in the […]

As I write this before the first pitch is thrown in the series opener between the Orioles and Padres on Monday night, the Birds have enjoyed a decent stretch of baseball. Since their last series with San Diego, in which the Friars secured a two-game sweep at Camden Yards, the O’s are 13-12, and in search of their first winning month since August of 2017. In the process of winning those games, they’ve actually forfeited their hold on the worst record in baseball, which for those closely following the rebuild, […]

In a lost season for the Orioles in 2019, the organization has certainly had some bright spots about which fans can be excited… John Means shocked the organization and fanbase by becoming the best starter on the club and making the American League All-Star team. Trey Mancini is rebounding from his rough 2018 campaign, having the best season of his career and is the leader of the youngest ballclub in baseball. Anthony Santander, a 2017 Rule 5 selection by former executive vice president and general manager Dan Duquette, is excelling […]

Griesser’s Suggested Change of the Week With the MLB Trade Deadline approaching, it’s no surprise that my Suggested Change of the Week will revolve around the departure of a player or two. I don’t really think I need to go into much more detail about that, but I’ll remind everyone that as one of the worst teams in the league, the Orioles have no need for players with current value, and should ship them off to bring in younger talents who could make the club better when it becomes relevant […]

In this episode of The Payoff Pitch Prospect Report, we check in on some current members of the Orioles minor-league system who have some very famous names in Birdland. Thanks for watching, and check out this week’s full episode here!

In such an awful year for Orioles pitching, a great deal of my articles – especially the Suggested Change of the Week variety – have revolved around the rotation. This installment of Hot Take Tuesday will be no different. A few weeks ago, I argued that John Means’ season may be the best since Erik Bedard graced the Yard. I stand by that statement, but the person I’d believed would jump to second-best has been far from trustworthy in 2019. With that in mind, I see the rotation pecking order […]

Griesser’s Suggested Change of the Week I’d say if there is anything at which the Orioles are worst, it’s pitching. Most of you would likely agree. Simply put, they have the worst ERA in the majors. That should be all you need to know. As a product of that, Mike Elias has been scrounging for scraps to place on the bump, and after trading one of the team’s more consistent starters in Andrew Cashner, the search is only going to be heightened. Now don’t get me wrong. There’s no way […]

1. I was only mildly surprised by Saturday’s Andrew Cashner trade, and really only for a second. It makes total sense that the O’s would deal Cashner, who had put up some decent numbers this season prior to his Boston debut the other night. What shocked me more than the trade, however, was the reaction to it. I guess I haven’t adjusted my brain to be able to deal with Orioles fans who expect anything other than misery for at least the next five years. This is year one of that, […]

I’m sure most of you have heard, but the big news of the weekend was the O’s trading Andrew Cashner. On Saturday, Mike Elias agreed to a deal with Boston that gives the Sox the back-end stability they coveted, while bringing two 17-year old international prospects to Baltimore’s system. Since the two position players don’t carry huge names or a known potential because of their age, there’s been a decent amount of backlash for the trade, as many feel Elias sold low on Cashner. However, in this week’s Hot Take […]

A Quantitative Analysis of the Birds Before the Trade Deadline We’re now past the halfway point of the 2019 MLB Season and trade rumors are already swirling. I don’t expect Mike Elias to be as active as Dan Duquette was at this time last year, but I do expect two or maybe even three Orioles to be dealt. I’ll take a look at eight potential trade candidates and show where they rank in advanced statistics. Front Offices value the advanced data much more in the modern day, along with contract […]

The All-Star break has come to an end and it’s time for real Major League Baseball games to start back up. With that said, I’d like to have a little fun with some bold – and some not so bold – predictions for the Baltimore Orioles for the remainder of the 2019 campaign. I’m curious to see which of these you agree with and the ones that will cause you to question my intelligence as a writer. Both reactions will be welcomed. Let’s get started. 1. The Orioles will trade […]

Griesser’s Suggested Change of the Week As I outlined recently, the 2019 Baltimore Orioles are not going to have a particularly active trade deadline. While the team is in no position to buy and likely would prefer to sell than stand pat, Mike Elias doesn’t have too many chips on hand. However, despite that unfortunate reality, it’s possible that the O’s could make moves to advance the rebuild. I’ll explain how in this week’s Suggested Change of the Week. If the Orioles want to move forward in acquiring prospects, there’s […]

While many O’s fans are still stinging that Trey Mancini was “snubbed” for the 2019 All-Star Game in favor of John Means, the fact is that Means had just as much of an argument for being included on the squad as did Trey. A glance at the three main providers of Wins Above Replacement (WAR) for fans tells the story. At FanGraphs, Means has racked up 1.9 fWAR to lead the team, compared to Mancini’s 1.6. Andrew Cashner even bests Mancini here, coming in at 1.8. At Baseball Reference, Mancini’s […]